The Afterword

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Finally….the big Taylor Swift thread

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As Airswift1 departs these shores after a month of concerts it seems a good time to take stock of what’s happened over the past twelve months. Though there’s been some comment action, this corner of the musical internet, along with probably The Wire and Folk Roots, are about the only bits not to gorge themselves on a non-step diet of Swift entrees, nibbles and desserts. So consider this an extended intro to the Eras Tour Thread. A few starting points for you all:

It might be that we’ve got nothing to say about this phenomenon. The Guardian recently ran a piece about Ronaldo being now too famous to play football. I think much the same might be said about Taylor Swift and music. But the difference of opinion that myself and @locust expressed over her latest album (more on TTPS below) might suggest that there are thoughts waiting to surface among the massive.

I did not apply for tickets to the Eras tour but my best friend, a fifty something sociology lecturer did. He went to Edinburgh with his early twenties daughter having dropped the best part of £250 on tickets, plus travel and accommodation on » Continue Reading.

Now That’s What I Call Afterword Friendly Music!

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Here’s how you play this Wonderful new game!

Imagine you chance upon a “compact disc” with the above title in your local “record shop”!

You study the track listing enthusiastically, pick up an extra couple of copies for “friends”, and hurry to the “check out”!

Now – the album has just twelve “tracks”, each by a different “artiste” – what, using your skill and judgement, might they be?

Set to it, “Afterworders”! Teamwork makes the dreamwork!

Bingo Little’s Best Of 2023

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Here we all are again at the awards show at the end of the universe. A peek into the other side of the Afterword, away from all the banjos and beards and whatnot, to a land populated by an insufferable Gen Xer with an inelegant Peter Pan complex and a deeply unfashionable belief that music not only did not reach its zenith in the 70s but has in fact only continued to improve with the passage of time.

If you’d each like to look under your seat, you’ll find a crate of rotten produce to reflect your indignation and a vuvuzela to help drown out the atrocious racket with will shortly emanate from this thread. Those among your number less temperamentally inclined to what we all know lies ahead are advised to seek the nearest exit post haste. Those made of sturdier stuff are advised to buckle up, pour yourself a stiff one and dive on in.

2023 was a year of highs and lows. Lots of parties, lots of laughs, some fabulous days out in fabulous company, but also having to watch friends and family go through tough times, and trying to find the best way to support » Continue Reading.

Beatles denied No. 1 album slot by Taylor Swift

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From BBC website:

“The Beatles’ hopes of correcting an historic blip in their chart record have been scuppered by pop superstar Taylor Swift. The Fab Four released new versions of their Red and Blue greatest hits albums last week, hoping that one of them would top the UK album chart.

But Swift wasn’t ready to let go, with her pop opus 1989 (Taylor’s Version) claiming the crown for a third week. The Beatles faced the same situation when the Red and Blue albums first came out in 1973. Back then, David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane denied them the number one.

This week, the two records end up in exactly the same chart positions as they did 50 years ago. The Red Album (technically called The Beatles 1962–1966) is at number three and the Blue Album (The Beatles 1967–1970) is at two.”

Move over, The Boss – There’s a new Queen in town!

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We’re all aware that Bruce is the acknowledged master of the stadium show, making such a vast space somehow intimate and personal, but he’s gonna have to go some this year to match the standard already set by Taylor Swift as she has begun her mammoth Eras Tour this weekend. Her show is a colossal, Springsteenesque three hours and (very important, very Taylor) 13 minutes long and incorporates forty-four songs, almost all being full versions. As reported, there are dazzling, dizzying changes of set and costume to complement each distinct section of the performance and unsurprisingly the production values are absolutely top-drawer. But the most special aspect to me is how Taylor connects at a profoundly emotional and inclusive way at an individual level at the same time as leading such a mass communal catharsis. Her live performances have always boasted these elements, but not at this immense scale. I know I’m in the minority round these parts, but I feel that these shows will demonstrate beyond any residual doubt or prejudice that she is an artist of real substance who will be recognised as one of the greats. Roll on next year and the UK Eras Tour…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9be0CgP4Ec

ATM: The National

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After Aaron Dessner’s sterling collaborative role on Taylor Swift’s utterly sublime folklore, my interest in The National has been piqued. I’m start from a position of basically not knowing anything of theirs, so can any discerning Afterworders guide me towards what to snog/marry/avoid, so to speak?

New Taylor Swift Album on Friday. Is everyone ready?

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This Friday Taylor Swift will release her seventh album, Lover. It’s been previewed by four great singles that have swerved and wrong-footed us all and teed up the new record nicely.

Her last album, 2017’s Reputation was a harder album with a mixture of cynicism and dismissiveness. The lead single back in 2017 announced “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why..? Because she’s DEAD”.

The Princeton Review tries to stitch up Taylor but is not swift enough

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The grammar snobs at the Princeton Review have been really hoist by their own petard. They tried to ridicule Taylor Swift but couldn’t even get her lyrics right. The sassy Ms Swift rapidly put those fuddy duddy grammarians in their place.

http://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2015/mar/26/taylor-swift-grammar-marked-incorrectly-princeton-review?CMP=share_btn_link

Unbelievable. There was a section in their test paper called “Grammar in Real Life” which read:

“Pop lyrics are a great source of bad grammar. See if you can find the error in each of the following.”

Who ever went to pop songs as a source of correct grammar anyway?

Professor Lemmy’s seminar on the use of the subjunctive? I’ll pass.